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You are giving me advice on how to run a company? Really now. You know this from your low level tech job at a company? Seriously, that gives you the real understanding how it all works? Seriously?

There is no conspiracy. Comcast has its agenda and Directv has its agenda. It's Mike White of Directv complaining about all the sports channel costs, etc. and yet he's the one who owns directly several of them that charge rates in the same general range as the others, that have had increases over the last decade in the same general range as the others, and Mr. White is the guy complaining about sports channels needs to be moved to a specialty tier. He needs to walk the walk and talk the talk for that to happen.

Because frankly, I would prefer that model. The model we have was set up by the tv providers and the tv distributors. Consumers have asked for years for an alacarte-type choice.

And understand the context of the Blazers issue. First, the Blazers have not complained about the pricing. They've had fans upset with access to the channel the games are on. And they filed this notice at the time the Comcast was buying NBC.

But the thing is - the games are available to Directv customers - at the price listed. Other systems have picked it up, but not Directv. Directv can carry CSN Philadelphia if it pays the price.

I don't like the prices and I think they are way to high, but that is a separate issue. I don't like how the Blazers sold out its viewership for an upstart channel with access problems.

Comcast is not innocent in anything, and neither us Directv. The chief competitor for both is each other.

Again you have no clue about big companies.

Fox? You mean the company that has the totally conservative Fox News and the immensely liberal Fox TV network that takes open swipes at Fox News?

I give up. You have no idea how businesses are run and think everything is a conspiracy. Wonder why directv would have channels that repeat Root programming like college sports if they want everyone to watch Root only.

Everything to you is a conspiracy. Directv would love to have the blazers games n their system. That brings them customers. For the right price. Just like the laker games.

And all that matters is NOW. Deny CSN because of a deal made years ago? And yet CSN has been a problem for everyone after they got the Blazers.

I am not cherry picking anything. The Blazers themselves complained about CSN pricing. But, if course, it is all about eyeballs for Root on Thursday night in January. Riiiiight.

I view the Laker's agreement as a positive sign and one that indicates we are getting closer in Houston to a CSN agreement (Satelliteracer, feel free to correct me here if I'm wrong )...

At the risk of actually making a semi-on-topic response (and while quoting myself), quite obviously, since Satelliteracer offered no correction to the above, the addition of CSN Houston is imminent (or in DIRECTV parlance, "soon" )!

"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force." - Ayn Rand

I didnt have time to read the thread,how much is houston asking for the channel? I heard directv paid about$3.50 per subscriber for the laker channel,surley houston should be able to get $2.50 or more?

I didnt have time to read the thread,how much is houston asking for the channel? I heard directv paid about$3.50 per subscriber for the laker channel,surley houston should be able to get $2.50 or more?

Just unreal how much they want per subscriber. Fox Sports Southwest only charges $2.88 and they showed Rangers, Astros, Mavs, Rockets, and Stars games last year. And Comcast wants $3.40 just for Rockets and Astros games? This is all getting so ridiculous.

Just unreal how much they want per subscriber. Fox Sports Southwest only charges $2.88 and they showed Rangers, Astros, Mavs, Rockets, and Stars games last year. And Comcast wants $3.40 just for Rockets and Astros games? This is all getting so ridiculous.

It's all because the new entrant comes into the market and waves cash in front of the teams.....in order to pay its bills the new entrant has to charge higher rates than the last guy - because the last guy was operating under a contract where terms were signed 5 or more years ago!

It's not really the broadcaster per se, it's teams that want the cash!

The $3.40 is for TWCSN, not CSN-Houston. We're not sure what CSN-Houston wants per subscriber. I don't think theres been anything announced yet.

The article cites $3.40 per subscriber: "The NBC Sports Group is seeking a reported $3.40 per subscriber per month for CSN Houston..." Whether that is valid or not, who knows.....but that's what the article cites as the demand for the channel.

It's all because the new entrant comes into the market and waves cash in front of the teams.....in order to pay its bills the new entrant has to charge higher rates than the last guy - because the last guy was operating under a contract where terms were signed 5 or more years ago!

It's not really the broadcaster per se, it's teams that want the cash!

G4 might return down the road depending on what they rebrand it to and if they actually invest in programming for it. Similar to how we lost Trio in 2005 (which originally was a US outlet for CBC programming until CBC sold it to Universal in 2000) and NBC Universal shut it down a year later and used its satellite slot to launch Sleuth (now Cloo), which DirecTV picked up.

I think The Weather Channel/Weatherscan are still negotiated seperately from the rest of NBC Universal, they don't even include them on their affiliate site or the media village site.

Universal Sports isn't on their affiliate and press site either, so that might be a seperate deal too since NBC is only a minority owner in the network.

The HD feeds for Chiller and Cloo never launched.

Hopefully we get more details when the deal is officially announced and if it includes TV Everywhere, extra VOD and HD rights. (In addition to Style HD, there's also an HD feed for Sprout)

"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force." - Ayn Rand

This is exactly why I wish Fox handled all RSN's. You never hear about FSN not being carried on a provider in the teams DMA. And it's always Comcast owned RSN's that have the most trouble. It's ridiculous and only the fans are the ones that miss out. $3.40 for this channel is way too high considering FS Southwest is over $1 cheaper if I recall and carries much more programming.

As bad as it is for us Rocket and Astro fans, the CSNH Facebook page is at least providing some comedic relief. Seems CSNH can't make a post without the majority of the responses being complaints about the lack of the ability to actually watch the channel. My favorite has to be the comment left on the "1-on-1 with Mike Tyson" thread: "Tyson, will you please punch CSN Houston in the face?"

"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force." - Ayn Rand

To the surprise of absolutely no one, ESPN’s broadcast of the Celtics-Rockets game on Friday night drew a bigger audience than Comcast SportsNet Houston’s broadcast of the same game.

Even when Astros and Rockets games are equally distributed, the national broadcast generally siphons off a good portion of the local audience. In a case such as this one, where CSN Houston is available in only 40 percent of the market, the gap can be considerable.

In this case, the game had a 0.97 rating on CSN Houston, averaging 21,563 households (one of CSNH’s better Rockets ratings, for the record) to 1.56 (34,576 households) on ESPN in Houston. That’s a combined of 2.53, making it easily the most-watched Rockets’ game of the year.

As year’s end approaches, there’s nothing new to report on carriage talks for CSN Houston, which is owned by the teams and by the NBC Sports Group, and DirecTV, Dish Network, AT&T U-verse or Suddenlink and other area cable systems that don’t carry the channel.

G4 might return down the road depending on what they rebrand it to and if they actually invest in programming for it. Similar to how we lost Trio in 2005 (which originally was a US outlet for CBC programming until CBC sold it to Universal in 2000) and NBC Universal shut it down a year later and used its satellite slot to launch Sleuth (now Cloo), which DirecTV picked up.

I think The Weather Channel/Weatherscan are still negotiated seperately from the rest of NBC Universal, they don't even include them on their affiliate site or the media village site.

Universal Sports isn't on their affiliate and press site either, so that might be a seperate deal too since NBC is only a minority owner in the network.

The HD feeds for Chiller and Cloo never launched.

Hopefully we get more details when the deal is officially announced and if it includes TV Everywhere, extra VOD and HD rights. (In addition to Style HD, there's also an HD feed for Sprout)

Sources: Astros Blocked a Potential Deal That Would Have Brought CSN Houston, Rockets Games to DirecTV

Excerpts...

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the Houston Astros, who are part owners of Comcast SportsNet Houston along with the Houston Rockets and NBC, nixed an 11th-hour deal with DirecTV that could have put CSN Houston on the provider and delivered Rockets games to its subscribers at the beginning of the Rockets season. Additionally, it is believed that such a deal, had it been completed, with DirecTV would have almost certainly led to similar deals with U-Verse and Dish Network. Currently, CSN Houston only airs on Comcast and a few smaller providers which represent about 40 percent of the coverage area.

Without the approval of the Astros, who own 46 percent of the channel to the Rockets' 30 percent and NBC's 22 percent, no deals can be made. The Astros allegedly balked at negotiations between CSN the Rockets and DirecTV before a final deal could be struck because they believed they could hold out for a better price. While the Rockets have been broadcasting on CSN Houston since October, the Astros won't have games on the channel until the spring.

The Astros referred questions to Matt Hutchings, president and general manager of CSN Houston, who responded with the following statement via e-mail:

We have offered the network at what we feel is a fair market value, considering we have two pro teams (and confidentially will be announcing a third, the Dynamo, soon), local and regional collegiate and high school product, and daily news and sports talk shows. DIRECTV is valuing it at a different rate, which we believe is below FMV and we're in the process of negotiating and reaching a compromise that both organizations feel is fair and a good value. One large provider, Comcast, and four smaller providers believe the value is there and have signed on.

Sources: Astros Blocked a Potential Deal That Would Have Brought CSN Houston, Rockets Games to DirecTV

Excerpts...

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the Houston Astros, who are part owners of Comcast SportsNet Houston along with the Houston Rockets and NBC, nixed an 11th-hour deal with DirecTV that could have put CSN Houston on the provider and delivered Rockets games to its subscribers at the beginning of the Rockets season. Additionally, it is believed that such a deal, had it been completed, with DirecTV would have almost certainly led to similar deals with U-Verse and Dish Network. Currently, CSN Houston only airs on Comcast and a few smaller providers which represent about 40 percent of the coverage area.

Without the approval of the Astros, who own 46 percent of the channel to the Rockets' 30 percent and NBC's 22 percent, no deals can be made. The Astros allegedly balked at negotiations between CSN the Rockets and DirecTV before a final deal could be struck because they believed they could hold out for a better price. While the Rockets have been broadcasting on CSN Houston since October, the Astros won't have games on the channel until the spring.

The Astros referred questions to Matt Hutchings, president and general manager of CSN Houston, who responded with the following statement via e-mail:

We have offered the network at what we feel is a fair market value, considering we have two pro teams (and confidentially will be announcing a third, the Dynamo, soon), local and regional collegiate and high school product, and daily news and sports talk shows. DIRECTV is valuing it at a different rate, which we believe is below FMV and we're in the process of negotiating and reaching a compromise that both organizations feel is fair and a good value. One large provider, Comcast, and four smaller providers believe the value is there and have signed on.

at least the shows that the teams have the power with the most of the CSN channels.

"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force." - Ayn Rand